Hollywood Sets Up Its Lady Superheroes to Fail

Isn’t that what we’ve been told? Leaked emails from the CEOs of Marvel and Sony have called female-led superhero films disasters.

Why is that? According to a exit polls, 40 percent of the Avengers: Age of Ultron audience was female, and similar stats have been published for other super-powered films. This proves (to those who didn’t already know) that there are women superhero fans. So why do we not get leads of our own gender?

WIRED Opinion

About

Kelsey Snyder is a writer and market researcher with a background in television and advertising.

It’s understandable that studios and networks want to back money-making franchises, but let’s face it: female superheroes have not been given much of a chance. I analyzed superhero films going back to 2000 and found that of the Marvel and DC films that were released theatrically since then, only 4 percent had female leads (i.e. the titular character or the top-billed actor in ensemble casts).

This was a depressing sample size of two: Catwoman and Elektra. Of these, Catwoman was the only true box office bomb; Elektra brought in more at the box office than it cost to produce. There are certainly financial failures in the 96 percent of male-led superhero films (Jonah Hex, anyone?), and yet these box-office flops have not prevented additional male-led films from being green-lit.

Female-led films are set up to fail.

Female-led films are set up to fail. Let’s use the Razzie-winning Catwoman as a case study. Catwoman had a production budget that was two-thirds that of Batman Begins, which came out the next year. Unlike the well-known directors who spearheaded male-led films, Catwoman had a director unknown and untested in the American market. Catwoman’s costume, clearly made for sex appeal, was criticized by fans and media alike. The male-written script may be the largest culprit. The main plot begins with Halle Berry’s character being killed over...face cream. Is it any wonder Catwoman wasn’t a success?

Some may point out that despite the lack of lone superheroine leads, there are women in ensemble casts: Storm. Emma Frost. Black Widow. Such characters have been a saving grace to female fans.

Yet it hardly seems fair that only a quarter of both the Avengers and the X-Men are women. When they do appear, these characters function largely as love interests for the male leads. Black Widow’s highly-criticized role in the recent Avengers film is a prominent example.

The disadvantages suffered by female superheroes go even further than the films themselves. Off-screen, superheroines don’t get the same merchandising support as their male counterparts do. Mark Ruffalo (yes, the Hulk himself) tweeted about the lack of Black Widow merchandise. Of the 60 items initially released for the latest Avengers film, Black Widow featured on just three. This under-representation not only gives superheroines a disadvantage in terms of branding, but it supports the idea that they are less important to the industry.

Television has been more willing to give female superheroes a chance. Of the DC and Marvel live-action series that aired in the past 15 years, 27 percent had female leads. ABC does deserve kudos for picking up Agent Carter for a second season. This spin-off of Captain America proves that there is an audience for female-led shows in which the main plot is not a romance. In adult 18-49 same-day Nielsen ratings, Agent Carter is on par with the male-led The Flash, Arrow and Gotham.

If only future shows would learn something from Agent Carter. Yes, Supergirl, I’m talking about you.

The trailer for Supergirl markets the show as a rom-com about a ditzy blonde who goes from dorky to bombshell, falls in love, battles indecision on clothing choices, and somehow still manages to save the day in her brand-new miniskirt. So it’s basically The Devil Wears Prada...with superpowers.

It’s patronizing to market to female viewers as if we are only interested in fashion and romance. Do we not face the same major struggles that men face? The Supergirl trailer is shockingly similar to Scarlett Johansson’s spoof of the Black Widow movie that-sadly-will-never-be on SNL. Perhaps the Supergirl trailer is misrepresentative of the actual show. With female writers on staff and a sizeable budget from CBS, hopefully this is true. However, if the show really is as harebrained as the trailer makes it out to be, Supergirl will inevitably be cancelled. When that happens, Hollywood will have one more example of how female superhero leads just don’t work.

It’s patronizing to market to female viewers as if we are only interested in fashion and romance. Do we not face the same major struggles that men face?

So, to all of you naysayers out there who say that female superhero leads just don’t work...well, of course they don’t. How can they be expected to succeed when they are doomed to fail from the beginning?

Audiences certainly have a desire for action films and series with strong female leads: The Hunger Games, Alias, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the most recent Mad Max. Why can’t the superhero genre get on board?

Of the announced 10 DC and nine Marvel films that will be released over the next several years, each publisher had just one female-led film each. Should we be happy that they each had one? Is that 11 percent of upcoming female films so much better than the 4 percent we had before? Still, with Captain Marvel and Wonder Women in the works, perhaps there is hope for female superheroes. More likely than not, these films will suffer in the same way that their predecessors did.

With studios and networks putting no faith in their superheroine content, there is little hope that female superheroes will be given the chance they deserve.

Networks and studios should invest in female-led films and series. They should hire female writers, and take the time to understand female audiences, and focus on the strength and intelligence of their female leads (as opposed to their ability to win men). If they do all this, then we stand a real chance.